It’d be easy to dismiss Erin K. Wagner’s An Unnatural Life as being a simple allegory for racism, and there are definitely elements there drawn a bit too straightforwardly from that (invented slurs such as “robot-lover” are a bit obvious, as is the mob that gathers outside Aiya’s home when she chooses to be 812-3’s legal representative). But I think it’s a little more than that, because we also have the issues of free will and responsibility, of whether 812-3 was in love with a human or whether he was compelled/manipulated to believe he was, of whether his actions were his own or compelled, and where the difference comes in.

The author talks on her website about being interested in “how the human responds to the nonhuman, artificial, supernatural, or otherwise”, and this book comes directly out of that. It’s hardly a mere retelling of To Kill a Mockingbird set in space, because Aiya’s far from being Atticus for quite a few reasons — and there is no wide-eyed innocent Scout being disillusioned here.

It ends unsettlingly, unresolved, in a way that’s sticking with me. It does feel like the journal inserts weren’t quite tied in with the rest — thematically they made sense, but it feels like a whole story going on there that didn’t quite join up. The mood is melancholy, in the midst of what could’ve been a triumph. I definitely found it an interesting read.

A novella that examines some interesting ideas around AI and their intersection with human legal systems, although ultimately it felt a little too brief.

I’ve done a unit in my class in the past about the ethics of cloning. We start with a couple articles about the process in sheep and cats… then we start speculating about humans. My students always have insightful responses and we usually end the unit with a lively debate. Wagner’s An Unnatural Life would be a good addition to my curriculum. She pushes the argument further and gives the reader a great ‘what if.’ Should AI be granted the same rights as humans? ie Should they have the right to defend themselves in a criminal trial?

While artificial lifeforms have already been granted legal rights on Earth, out in space the mining colonies and other settlements have been reluctant to make such changes. Up on Europa, a moon of Jupiter, the robot designated 812-3 is accused and jailed on a murder charge with no option for appeal. Initially sent to the colony to assist prisoners, Aiya Ritsehrer is pulled into the case when 812 pleads with her to defend him.

What follows is a fascinating contemplation on human rights and how they may or may not be applied to our tech friends. Is it too much to ask for a fair trial? It’s up to you to decide!

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Books, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I could not get into it. I do not think this was the one for me. The premise was super interesting, but towards the end to me it just fell apart.

Robot fiction is near and dear to me, as evidenced by this blog’s chosen name. There’s something fascinating to me about the dynamic between human and machine, and the many implications as the gap between those two states begins to close. ‘Are robots human?’ is a question that has been posited throughout science fiction for decades, and it continue to create fascinating commentary and insight into the minds of mankind. This conversation is front and center in Erin K. Wagner’s An Unnatural Life, giving us insight into how humanity might lash out at the thought of robots achieving equal rights to humans.

To start, the novella’s intricate structure creates a moving story that doesn’t let up. Wagner intertwines past, present, and future, intersecting at a new defining moment for Europa and its inhabitants. We see the promise our protagonist felt at starting life on a new world. We see the realities of setting foot in a colony that is nothing more than a small town, constrained by its domes and the harsh environment outside the glass. We see small-minded people continuing their stubbornness to expand their way of imagining the universe and mankind’s place in it. We get glimpses of the search for life on the surface, and inklings that mankind and robotkind aren’t along after all. These pieces come together to form a story that ultimately examines humanity’s many faults and the violence that can occur when those same small-minded people are tested outside of their comfort zones.

The protagonist, Aiya Ritsehrer, unwittingly sets a rollercoaster in motion on the first visit with the Robotnik prisoner 812-3. In the short span of this tightly drawn novella, we see extraordinary character growth as Aiya follows the path of justice for 8. We see the hatred from everyone around her, the prejudices that constantly threaten to overtake Aiya’s work, but in the end, justice prevails. No matter the loses or the humiliations, Aiya never falters. Wagner has managed to create a hero whose mind and heart are the weapons used to win the novella’s central battle. As the one seemingly compassionate person in the entire colony, Aiya forces the inhabitants to reflect on themselves and what they’re so afraid of.

812-3 presents a fascinating character study as well. With few words and little insight into 8’s mind, we still see a surprising amount of growth. It’s clear the human Robotnik prejudices have seeped into 8’s perception of the world. At first, 8 sits quietly in the prison cell, staring at the wall, uninterested in Aiya’s mission to serve and resigned to this new imprisoned life. Arguments and new events reveal themselves gradually, painting a vastly different picture than the killer robot portrayed by the military. We see a being capable of feeling love, one who wants to work and live without fear of prejudice and mistreatment. The circumstances of the crime are pulled straight out of a typical mystery novel, but it’s the characters who make it something entirely new. Wagner’s usage of a common crime story alongside the dynamics of human-vs-robot creates something new and exciting to imagine.

Above all, An Unnatural Life is a well-executed story about what it means to be human. Wagner has masterfully placed the robots-as-humans quandary front and center, relying on legalese to examine an often-emotional argument. This argument is at the heart of every robot story, asking human readers to examine their own prejudices about whether the definition of humanity can be expanded to include beings we would typically consider to be machines. In the end, the most important question typically arises: who are we to decide?

Published by Tor.com on September 15, 2020

An Unnatural Life imagines that Jupiter’s moon Europa has been colonized. Its colonists dwell underground. Robots with Artificial Intelligence, called robotniks, do most of the grunt work for the colonists. A robotnik known as Worker Class 812-3 killed a human co-worker. Or maybe he didn’t. Responsibility for such things is difficult to judge in the case of robotniks who can be controlled by others. A jury of humans found 812-3 guilty. The robotnik doesn’t feel guilty and, depending on one’s view of the law, he might not be. On the other hand, the robotnik thinks he acted out of love, so 812-3 might not have a reliable perspective when it comes to the human world.

A lawyer named Aiya Ritsehrer is working with a program that hopes to rehabilitate robotniks. They are good laborers with strong backs when they aren’t killing people, but most humans are skeptical that killer robots can be rehabilitated. That isn’t surprising, since many humans are skeptical that humans can be rehabilitated.

Aiya decides that, in the absence of robotnik jurors, 812-3 wasn’t tried by a jury of his peers. The plot is driven by Aiya’s determination to appeal 812-3’s conviction and to obtain a new trial based on United Nations rulings that grants equal rights to AIs. Aiya encounters resistance from human colonists who almost universally agree that AIs can’t be trusted because they aren’t true humans. Much of the resistance comes from angry shouters who apparently still plague humanity in 2145.

Isaac Asimov wrote the first widely read stories about robots who yearn for human rights. He wisely put the focus on the robots and their struggle to be recognized as human. Stories about civil rights for robots tend to be allegories that channel the struggle to protect the civil rights of everyone who is treated as less than equal. They work when they make the reader see the robot as having the qualities of a human. Erin K. Wagner alters the traditional framework for stories of this nature by making the unfortunate decision to shift the emphasis away from 812-3 and to place it on Aiya.

The story’s focus is not on the legal issue, which is underdeveloped, or on 812-3, whose enigmatic personality isn’t explored in any depth. Rather, the focus is on the impact that Aiya’s battle for justice has on Aiya. Her friend/partner insists that she move out when a mob of angry shouters gathers in front of their home. Aiya worries that she won’t be protected by the police or prison guards who oppose giving human rights to robotniks. Aiya is a depressive, downbeat, surprisingly timid character who did little to win my sympathy despite her belief in justice. She doesn’t have the fire in her belly that draws lawyers to civil rights work. Instead, she seems to be a bit of a doormat who doesn’t have much desire to fight back against her oppressors and has to force herself to do the right thing for 812-3, a robotnik she instinctively fears.

The ending is downbeat. That may be a realistic commentary on the history of the civil rights struggle, but Aiya responds to it with her usual air of misery. Readers are apparently expected to be more indignant about the story’s events than Aiya ever becomes. Wagner tries to soften the bleak ending by having Aiya give freedom to a cleaning bot that likely lacks the processing power to appreciate it, but Aiya’s final attempt to make a statement seems contrived and a bit pointless.

I admire Wagner’s prose style. Perhaps a longer work that explored the underlying issues and 812-3 in greater depth, that wasn’t satisfied with depicting Aiya as a Debbie Downer, would have done justice to the story’s premise. As it stands, Wagner wrote a mildly interesting novella that adds little to a concept that other writers have exhaustively explored.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ebook.

I'm fascinated by how AI and humans could interact, how they navigate social life, and what differences might crop up. Erin K Wagner explores one such relationship here.

In a space colony, a lawyer explores crime and cultural relevatism through conversations with an AI who is imprisoned. It's a nuanced exploration of the topic that I found very readable.

This book was just the right length for what it was doing and it chowed through it quickly.

An Unnatural Life is the latest novella from science fiction writer Erin K. Wagner. This is one of those novellas that's going to make you think. It's goal is to make you uncomfortable, and to assess your biases, but in ways that you might not expect.

812-3 is a cybernetic organism accused and found guilty of murder. They've been spending their time in prison on Europa. That is, until Aiya got involved. She was sent there in an attempt to help rehabilitate cybernetics like 812-3, but she ended up diving in deeper than expected.

You see, 812-3 is claiming they didn't commit the crime, and they have a very good reason for wanting help from a lawyer like Aiya. The real question is, is humanity willing to give cybernetics more rights?

“Either they're machines or we're monsters.”
“Well, the latter's a given.”

Warnings: An Unnatural Life is designed to make people think and feel uncomfortable, so the use of tense subjects shouldn't be a surprise. There are portrayals of assault and abuse of power within these pages. It's an inescapable element of the plot.

Holy cow. I was not prepared for the way An Unnatural Life would make me feel. This is a brilliantly written novella, one that hits right in the heart. It also makes you think, and I adore that.

I got sucked into this novella when I saw it described as Murderbot meets To Kill a Mockingbird. I adore both comparisons, so it only felt natural for me to try this piece. I cannot tell you how accurate those comparisons are.

Wager took all of the struggles and injustices portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, and put them into a different context here. That much is pretty obvious, even from the description. It should also be clear that this isn't exactly a happy story. But it does make the point.

It makes that point with so much power and emphasis. It left me feeling a little bit shaken, by the time I was done. It's impossible not to feel invested in 812-3's story, or in Aiya's fight for a fair trial for their sake. It's all wonderfully done.

“We cannot – we will not – abide this sort of vigilante justice which has no regard for due process. I understand, I am human, I understand the urge to seek out your own justice when looking into the eyes of one of them. But we must rise above our first instincts and prove ourselves human even when facing the inhuman.”

If anything, my only complaint would be that the reactions of the humans felt too real. Too pain. It's easy to hope that people wouldn't react in such a way, but doing so would be an injustice.

Long story short, I adored An Unnatural Life, and cannot wait to see more from Erin K. Wagner.

I always love a good android story, so I was eager to request this one from NetGalley. (Insert disclaimer about how I got a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) It’s actually a novella, rather than a novel like I initially assumed, so it’s a pretty quick read.

To be honest, I didn’t really like this story. For one thing, it didn’t feel much like an android story. The android character really felt like he could have been any kind of person at all. I found it very hard to relate to or like the android character, largely because he is not actually the main character, and we don’t see enough of him to even form an opinion for quite a while. And even when we do see him, the author doesn’t make much attempt at all to get us to like him or find him sympathetic for his own sake. If the set up had been exactly the same, but the character of the android was immediately likable and sympathetic, where we as the reader automatically believe him and think it’s terribly unjust for the people to have convicted him in such a biased way, I would have been much more engaged in the story. As it is, I don’t care about the android character enough to want him to get his appeal. In fact, when the main character agrees to help him—at great risk to herself—he doesn’t even act grateful. If anything, he’s actively unlikable. In fact, the more we learn about him, the less I liked him or had sympathy for him (he was an adulterer, for one thing). (Later on in the story, the android aspect comes into play due to programming being significant, but it wasn’t enough to make him feel like an android to me. It could have as easily been a human with some kind of override chip in his head.)

Maybe the author is trying to make the point that people shouldn’t have to be likable in order for us to want them to get a fair trial, which is a true enough point. But that comes back to this being a message story instead of an entertainment story. The author seems to be trying to teach us something rather than to entertain us, and that’s just not the kind of story I enjoy. Maybe others do.

The bigger problem, though, was that the whole story felt like the author was trying to specifically make some kind of political or social message and was deliberately using androids to represent any kind of minority group among human society. In other words, it felt like a message story. As someone who enjoys android stories but not message stories, I didn’t like it.

The idea behind this book reminds me of the Star Trek TNG episode “The Measure of a Man”, where Data (an android) is put on trial to basically decide if he is enough of a real person to deserve human rights. In that case, it was basically just the right of self-determination, the right to decide not to follow an order which would have . . . if I’m remembering correctly . . . resulted in basically his death and de-person-hood in the name of scientific progress. That was, I think, a very effective and entertaining story about androids and their place in human society.

This book, by contrast, was not nearly as effective or entertaining. It wasn’t about the androids’ rights, really. In this book, they already have may of the same legal rights as humans, including the right to not be murdered and even the right not to have their memories accessed without their permissions. And the thing that the android is on trial for isn’t simply his right to be a person but for murder. This is part of what made it feel not at all like a real android story to me but like a message story about whoever the minority group in a society of humans is. The comparison to To Kill A Mockingbird in the publisher’s description pretty well reinforces this. I know a lot of people like sci-fi to be a way of using metaphors to talk about modern-day issues, but I like sci-fi when it’s just sci-fi. In other words, I want androids to be their own thing. I want them to be androids. Not stand-ins for something else.

When the truth of what happened is eventually explained, I had to wonder why the android character didn’t just tell the whole truth and let them access his memories. Seems like it would have cleared his name. And yeah, someone might have gotten in trouble for something, but it shouldn’t have been murder, given the situation.

So, in short, this was too much of a message story and not enough of an actual android story for me. As someone who loves androids, this didn’t hit any of the right buttons for me, personally. Someone who enjoys sci-fi as social commentary will likely enjoy it more.

When Aiya agreed to assist in Europa’s prisoner rehabilitation program, she didn’t expect a robotnik to be her first client – or that he would ask her to appeal his murder conviction. After some reluctance, Aiya agrees, but she faces an uphill battle. Europa is resistant to acknowledging the rights of robotniks, and Aiya will have to come up with a compelling reason why the case was mishandled to begin with.

Let’s start this review by setting the expectations for this book. Marketing has been pushing Murderbot meets TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, but if you come to this story expecting action and a sarcastic tone, you will be sorely disappointed. This is much closer to a sci-fi TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, one that is much more contemplative than anything else.

The author manages to do a great job of world building, establishing the feeling of this colony in a short amount of pages. I particularly liked her descriptions of the robotnik (essentially an android) 812-3. She managed to capture how unsettling the robotnik could be, even when not doing anything inherently threatening. I could have used a little less of the cliched “Most people hate robotniks and mistreat them when given the chance,” but otherwise it was an interesting world setup.

On the downside, though, this was a book that was much more interested in introducing questions than interrogating those questions. To be fair, AN UNNATURAL LIFE raises some interesting points. One of Aiya’s legal tactics, for instance, is to propose that 812-3 was not tried by a jury of his peers. But is declaring that humans are not the peers of robotniks a good thing in the long run? And what does that mean in the grand scheme of things? The author will leave you to debate that, rather than offer any true opinions on this and other questions raised in the story. She’s here to poke, not render judgement. It’s an approach that left me feel like the story was half-finished.

Your enjoyment of AN UNNATURAL LIFE will depend on how much you want the author to do the heavy lifting for you when it comes to more philosophical questions. The tale is otherwise well-written, so if you like your sci-fi to give you questions to ponder, this may be exactly your cup of tea! I prefer my reads to be a little more meaty and have a definitive thesis, so it didn’t win me over as much as I was hoping. Either way, this is a quick read easily consumed in an afternoon, and worth a look at for sci-fi fans.

Actual Rating 3.5

I really enjoyed the writing in this novella and how our main character, Aiya, gives us a good look into what it means to be human, especially in this futuristic setting, and how it pertains directly to the incarcerated AI, 812-3.

However, as with other novellas I've read, my issues with this book relate to how much content we have, or rather, what seems to be missing. I felt that Erin K. Wagner must have done quite a bit of world-building before writing because I feel it on the fringes of the story. However, I wish the book was longer so that we could really delve into it. Same with the characters' personalities. I got the bare bones of who Aiya and 812-3 were, but I was unable to really connect with them.

There were also passages in between the chapters that felt like they didn't pertain to the story, and while intriguing, I did not understand why they were included.

A great premise, and a quick read, but I just wanted MORE.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

The story is about a robotnik named Worker Class, ID 812-3, who was convicted of murdering a human worker. Aiya Ritsehrer, who works for the District Eta’s Prisoner Rehabilitation Program serves as his lawyer when he asks for an appeal to his case.

The story is very engaging, straightforward and fast-paced. Although the story concept is unique and that the story explored the subject of humanity, there is not enough world-building like the future technology, food and water sources, and the backstories of the characters involved. I felt that some parts are unrelated to the story like the discovery of alien life. I felt heartbroken at the end because of the injustice, discrimination, and prejudiced law enforcement.

Overall, this was a good read for me and I’ll surely check out the author’s future works. For those who like stories about artificial intelligence then I recommend this book to you.

I’m thankful to the author, to the publisher, and to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review the eARC of this novel.

I thought this novella had a really intriguing premise, but falls short in fleshing out the questions that the story brings up. I thought the two main characters fell flat and were not developed enough to feel empathetic. The writer is definitely skilled but this title was not cohesive enough for me to give it a rating above a 3/5. It does provide some light into the philosophy of personoood and identify.

When I finished this novella, I closed my ipad, turned to my wife, and said, "that was really good."
Why exactly though? That question took me a couple of days of reflection...

First off, this novella reminds me strongly of To Kill A Mockingbird. There are a lot of differences, sure, the being on trial is an AI (kinda), the POV character is the lawyer (think Atticus Finch) with a lot more personal life, the location is Europa rather than the US South. But, the feel of struggle against an unjust legal system for a minority group is all there. Actually, one reason that I can't bring myself to give it 5 stars is because of what it reminded me of (I never cared for TKAM).
This isn't just a thin sci-fi overlay on TKAM though. There is a depth of backstory and emotion, a sense of place in the setting, little asides in the chapter interludes that really make this story flow and to me elevate it. It is such a worthwhile story to read.

I would highly recommend it to those who love exploitation of new cultural norms and anyone who is curious what happens when a law procedural meets science fiction.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of this book.

Robots and AI are a favorite of mine, and this book was no exception. I especially love stories like "I, Robot" that explore morality and 'humanity' of robots struggling with their identity. This novella delves into this theme with its robotic slaves. It's a compelling and thought provoking novella.

This was an interesting read but didn't really tug at your heart strings like I thought it would. It's absolutely nothing like I, Robot which I love and was kind of expecting. It's more of a tell it like it is kind of reporting of what happened. It's not a world that you're fascinated with and wish you could live in like most sci-fi novels and there's not a single character I really cared about.

This book was fascinating and I did enjoy it but the ending broke my heart



I wanted to read this book as I love science fiction books and the summary sounded good. The book isn’t some big space odyssey. This book is a short story about robotnik, 812-3, and him being wrongly accused of murder. His lawyer, Aiya, works to get him a fair trial through an appeal.

Things are not what they seem and it’s truly a sad and unfair story

Some things were a bit confusing and the book is just point blank about the basic storyline. You won’t find any kind of world building etc, but if you’re looking for a real life type story in a sci-fi setting, then this is the novella for you.

*I would like to thank Netgalley and Tor for a digital copy of this book.

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

This was an interesting science fiction novella that explored the rights of robotic slaves in the far future. Due to the short length it couldn't go too much in depth, but the court case and Aiya's struggle with her own ethics was compelling. Thought provoking.

This one was a fascinating read. I enjoy books that focus on artificial intelligence and what it means to be "alive," and this book was no exception.

I picked this up as early as I did because it was teasing me. Specifically, the recommendations I received from a friend listed some readalikes for this book and I was just sure that something was missing – actually I was positive that at least two somethings were missing – and I had to read it to see if I was right.

You know how it is, there’s something on the tip of your tongue, or just out of reach in your memory but you can’t quite grasp it. It was driving me nuts that I just couldn’t remember what one of the books I KNEW this reminded me of was, so I had to read it and find out.

In case you’re wondering, the recommendation said Murderbot, which, well, of course, yes. Because Murderbot is so ‘top of mind’ after the recent release of Network Effect. And there is something to be said for the correlation, although strictly speaking Murderbot isn’t exactly a self-aware AI. Self-aware, absolutely, an AI, not exactly. But the concept of humans creating an enslavable and exploitable underclass is certainly a match. The other readalike was the classic The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov, which I have not read. The ‘so many books, so little time’ conundrum rears its ugly head yet again.

I was thinking of Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport for both the self-aware AI and the specifically created underclass, even though in Medusa they are not exactly embodied in the same person – or at least not all of the time.

But those references felt fairly obvious. The one lurking in the back of my mind turned out to be the steampunk world created in Ian Tregillis’ Alchemy Wars series, starting with The Mechanical. While the ‘mechanicals’ of that series were created through alchemy rather than science, the situation they find themselves in is much the same as it is in An Unnatural Life. They are created to be slaves and they seem to have no recourse towards freedom. But they are self-aware, and they strike out for freedom anyway, in spite of the odds, the laws, and their own programming.

In the end, the story this reminded me of the most was the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Measure of a Man“, where Data is on trial. Not for a crime as the AI here is, but for his right to be a self-determining being in his own right, and not property as has occurred in the world posited in this story. Picard’s speech in Data’s defense echoes many of the abuses that are highlighted in this story, as it is all too clear from humanity’s history that if Data is not considered an autonomous being in his own right that he and others like him will be declared to be ‘property’ and abused as happened in the backstory for this book. Also as did happen in the later history of the universe of Star Trek, as represented in the events of its latest series, Star Trek: Picard.

The story in An Unnatural Life, just like the story in The Measure of a Man, isn’t really about the android, the AI, the ‘grunt’, after all. It’s a story about humans, and about humanity’s inhumanity to humanity. It’s about just how very easy we find it to believe that anyone we define as ‘them’ can be treated as inhumanely as we want, because we’ve decided that the only ones worthy of being considered ‘human’ are ‘us’.

But Walt Kelly’s Pogo had it right all along when he said, “We have met the enemy and he is us”. And he still is.

Escape Rating A-: There are actually two stories in this slim little volume. One is the obvious, the story of Aiya Ritsehrer’s appeal on behalf of the AI 812-3 due to the obvious fact that the AI did not face a jury of his peers, but rather a jury that was utterly prejudiced against the AI, as was the judge and the prosecution. Aiya is convinced the AI did not receive a fair trial, and it’s oh-so-clear that she is correct.

There is also a story tucked in-between the chapters about Aiya, the trial and its result. I think that it was about an expedition to discover whether or not there was already life on Europa when it was settled by humans. But that story is more tantalizing than realized. Which is possibly intended, but left me a bit frustrated by its ambiguity, hence the A- rating.

Back to the story I’m entirely too sure of. One of the things that so frequently gets lost in the gee-whiz sensawunda that science fiction and fantasy often provoke is that no matter who or what is at the center of the story, no matter where or when it is set, all stories are about human beings. Because human beings are the only creatures that we really know. Writers may do their very best to guesstimate what androids or aliens in the far future or the mythic past might think and feel and say and do, but the fact is that the perspective from which all of those ‘otherworldly’ characters are written is the human one in the here and now of the author.

So from one perspective this is a story about a self-aware AI in search of justice on one of Jupiter’s moons. But on the other, the story underneath that, is a story about prejudice and justice. It’s a story about the lengths and depths that humans, following their worser instincts and not their better ones, will go to in order to preserve the status quo that makes them feel safe and comfortable.

It is also a story about one woman fighting, not just for justice for an underdog, but for what is right instead of what is easy, in spite of all of her own prejudices, and in spite of the very real fear that her pursuit of justice will bring her into deadly danger in a situation where no one will stand by her, no one will protect her, and no one will seek justice on her behalf.

Because all of those humans believe that their hatred of ‘the other’ and their willingness, even eagerness to destroy anyone who shines a light on that hatred, is not human either and therefore deserves whatever happens to them. That they brought it on themselves, and that their fate is not the fault of anyone but themselves for standing up for ‘the other’.

And if you don’t see any parallels between the story and both history and current events, you’re not paying attention.